


the hatmaker and the frog

by showhyuk



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Howl's Moving Castle Fusion, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Wizards, M/M, Magic-Users, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-10-20 20:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10670100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/showhyuk/pseuds/showhyuk
Summary: in which hyungwon turns himself into a frog with a wayward spell turned curse and master magician minhyuk is of no help as he looks for the loophole.





	1. in which hyungwon creates a curse with a spell (and minhyuk is useless)

this is not how hyungwon planned on living his life. he’s a good magician’s apprentice. he’s usually pretty decent with his spells although his potions could use some work (he definitely turned that old man’s hair into a bird, but really who hasn’t done that?). granted, he’s often asleep and maybe once in awhile he’s actually slept through important lessons (but it’s not like minhyuk is ever on time anyway). he’s definitely supposed to be asleep now. but instead--

“you’ve cursed yourself,” says his master magician with a short laugh. “into a frog--oh my goodness.” needless to say, hyungwon is not the most fond of master minhyuk right now. the older magician, while certainly the best in his field, was a hard person to work for. hyungwon is sure he’s an imposter.

“are you going to help me?” he asks with a sigh, very dignified from the frog currently perched on the stool.

“i’d like to,” says minhyuk when he’s stopped laughing at the talking frog with the refinery of an elegant gentleman. “but only you, the curser, can remove the curse.”

hyungwon’s jaw goes slack at the news. a comical sight for the barely adult magician (board certified, they say) in front of him. “how can i in this state?!”

“all curses have a catch, haven’t they?” this is true. all curse have loopholes. love’s first kiss, kill the curser, maim a witch, the usual. hyungwon hops to the spell book, reviewing the spell he cast. “i don’t...” he frowns, deep in thought. “i cast a spell though, master minhyuk. not a curse.”

“you must have done it wrong and cast a curse instead,” is the absent-minded response. “you’re free to look through my books for help,” he says, pulling on his cloak. “remember, we still have customers coming in for their potions. i must go to kingsbury to see the prince.”

and before hyungwon has even a chance to croak, the magician is gone and he’s left with books far too heavy for his frog arms to lift.


	2. in which hyungwon is an (bigger) idiot

it’s been one day. one whole day since he’s been a frog and hyungwon is ready to croak already. for one thing, nothing tastes the same anymore. he actually enjoyed the taste of a fly. for another, the stupid magicked furniture were playing tricks on him by stacking all of the books he needed higher than he could reach (which obviously isn’t very high considering he’s only a few centimeters tall).

“you wait until i’m uncursed,” he croaks at the armoire. “i’ll glue your doors shut, you miserable wooden oaf!”

it’s the knock on the door that reminds hyungwon that despite everything that has happened to him, he’s still the master magician’s apprentice and he still has to handle all of the clients. even in his current state. the first customer that walks in is the alchemist’s son, but changkyun barely even looks at him as he picks up the ingredients needed by his mother.

maybe everything else will go just fine.

 

but of course, hyungwon’s luck is never quite as good as he’d like it. one time, he nearly sold his soul to a warlock when he lost a magician’s duel--thankfully master minhyuk can sometimes be useful (turned the warlock into a bird, yes, he did). the next customer is the baker and his first reaction is to laugh for 10 minutes straight.

“i’m not giving you the growth potion, you little loaf, if you don’t shut up,” snaps hyungwon from his stool.

“ah, how the tables have turned,” says kihyun, wiping the tears from his eyes. “now it’s you who’s the tiny one. how’d you manage this?”

hyungwon glares. and glares some more. it doesn’t look that way to kihyun though because, frankly, hyungwon is too small for facial expressions to really show and more than anything, it looks like he’s fallen asleep. hyungwon finally sighs, having glared enough. “wayward spell if you will.”

“it’s master minhyuk who makes my potions, right?” kihyun asks with a smart grin plastered across his face.

hyungwon jumps at the other man’s face. “yeah, but i guess nothing is gonna make you taller.”

kihyun jumps back, surprised at the sudden attack. “you realize, of course, that i can literally stomp on you?”

“you wait until i’m uncursed,” he croaks, waving his tiny frog arm as he jumps to stay in kihyun’s line of sight. “i’ll stomp on you!”

“yeah, okay, bug eater.”

perhaps the next customer will be easier.

 

but of course it’s not, because it’s the cute apprentice hatmaker from over the hill. when hoseok walks into the store, if he’s surprised to see hyungwon’s current state, he hides it well.

“i’m here for master hyunwoo’s hair growth potion?” hyungwon nods at the muscled man before hopping to the cupboard to retrieve the correct potion. hoseok follows and picks up the small vial that hyungwon points out. he squints at the small frog. “can you talk?”

“yes, of course i can.”

hoseok squints again. “hyungwonnie?”

this is not how hyungwon planned on living his life. he’s a good person and he doesn’t deserve to be seen as frog by the very cute apprentice hatmaker. so he croaks an affirmative and hoseok frowns. “wayward spell turned curse.”

“oh.”

“yes.”

“how are you going to become a human again?”

hyungwon turns to glare at the armoire. “when i can reach those books. but some little shits--”

“do you want some help?”

“what?”

“help. would you like some? you know, in reaching the books.” truth be told, hoseok thinks hyungwon is more than a little cute. ever since he saw him (one time) at the apprentices that hate their masters meeting. of course, hyungwon was mostly asleep at the meeting, only getting up to eat cake.

“oh, well yes. yes, that’d be most helpful.”

and so hoseok brings down a few of the spellbooks and they gloss over the fine print for curses. it seems most curses were placed by witches, and of course, the way to end the curse is to end the witch. unfortunately, hyungwon was neither a witch, nor did he wish death upon himself.

“can’t magician minhyuk fix this?”

hyungwon shakes his head. “no, because i cursed myself.”

hoseok knows nothing about the magical world. other than what hyunwoo tells him and that, he’s learned from magician minhyuk (who oddly spend a lot of time in master hyunwoo’s room). so he simply nods as hyungwon prattles on about curses and spells and removal. hoseok watches as the frog pours over the spellbooks, searching for his answer and he’s not sure how time escapes him, but when he glances out the window, it’s dark.

“oh no...”

hyungwon glances up from the book to the handsome man before following his gaze to the window. “oh, of course,” he says. “you have to go.” hyungwon jumps to the countertop so he’s closer to eye level. “will you be all right? travelling at night?”

hoseok laughs and hyungwon nearly falls off the counter at how lovely it sounds in the stiff air of the workroom. “only pretty girls need to be afraid of having their hearts eaten. i am neither a girl, nor am i very pretty.”

“ah, but you are very beautiful.” and hyungwon swears he’s never seen a person turn that shade of red before in his life. hoseok blabbers a muss of words as his goodbye and trips his way out of the store, leaving the frog rethinking if his brain was processing before he talks or if he's taking after magician minhyuk.

“i am an idiot.” says hyungwon to himself.


	3. in which they ask changkyun for a favor and hyungwon is presented with a hat by the apprentice hatmaker

hoseok comes back the next day as soon as the shop is open with an armful of bread and cake, enough that it hides him from view when he stumbles into the shop. croaking in surprise, hyungwon jumps over to the very quickly falling apprentice. hyungwon prods him with his frog foot, watching as the man crinkles his nose before raising himself to his feet. 

“are you all right?” he asks when perched in the basket of food.

hoseok’s face is as red as last night as he dusts himself off. “yes, yes, i am quite all right.” he pauses to glance down at the inquisitive frog in the basket. “i thought you might be hungry.”

hyungwon glances down at the bread and winces. “i uh--human food, you see--”

the handsome man across from him slaps his forehead in despair. “oh, of course!” he exclaims. “you must prefer insects now, right?” if hyungwon could still blush, he would be an awful shade of red right now. sputtering over his words, hyungwon falls back into the basket as hoseok moves towards the workstation. “i thought you might, so i picked up some bugs along the way, but i don’t know which one you would like?” still rambling, hoseok sits upon the stool and places a napkin full of bugs in front of the backset. 

hopping out of the basket, hyungwon pauses in front of the napkin, sniffing the bugs. “i’m rather fond of insects with wings,” replies airily. “they have a such a light texture in my m--” he pauses to look up at the other man nodding seriously back at him. “ahem. this is probably of no interest to you.”

“of course it is!” hoseok interrupts. “it’s about you, so it is important.” hyungwon thanks the gods above that he can’t blush. hoseok pulls something else from his pocket and places it on the table, blushing because, well, he’s still human and unfortunately, can still blush. 

“oh, what is this?” asks hyungwon, jumping over to the covered item. pulling it away, he stares in shock at the small item.

“it’s a hat,” supplies hoseok. “i um i’m working on some hats now, and well, magicians are supposed to have hats, i know, so i just thought that, perhaps, you’d like one, even though you’re in this state?”

tentatively, lifting the hat, hyungwon places it atop his frog head. “well? do i look like a magician again?”

“a very cute one,” hoseok replies with a grin and hyungwon finds himself at a loss of words. the silence grows as the pair stare at one another before hyungwon clears his throat.

“i’ve been researching how to break a curse,” he says, changing the subject abruptly. hoseok tilts his head to the side as the peculiar frog tongues an insect before gulping the multi limbed creature. munching on the insect, hyungwon walks in front of hoseok. “there’s an antidote that must be created. i’m not sure of the materials needed, of course.”

“shall we go to the alchemist’s house?” hoseok prods. he’s always wary of the house. not for the alchemist, no. but their son, changkyun. he leaves him with a wicked feeling. 

hyungwon hops upon the other’s head. “ah, yes, of course! the alchemist.” he sits on top of the soft head of hair, pondering how to get to the alchemist’s house when hoseok rises.

“i’ll take you. the gods know it’ll take you at least two days on those short legs of yours.”

offended, hyungwon lets himself be carried out of the workstation and towards the alchemist. in the time that follows from the shop to the alchemist’s house, hyungwon ponders atop the head. he fears if the curse isn’t soon lifted, he’ll lose all his sense of being as a human and will begin to think as a frog as well. his stomach already is. for, as master minhyuk mentioned eons ago, curses have a set time before the effects become more permanent and much harder to remove. of course, master minhyuk also spends the majority of his time with hyunwoo, so he probably says all of that to keep away from real work.

“we’re here,” hoseok declares, stopping carefully so the frog atop his head would not fall. hopping down to his shoulder, hyungwon glances at him and hoseok raps upon the wooden door twice quickly.

it’s not the alchemist who answers, but rather their son. young changkyun, who, with a mouthful of bread, answers the door. when he first speaks, neither hoseok nor hyungwon understand the words (or crumbs) coming out of his mouth. swallowing what’s in his mouth, changkyun tries again.

“what do you want?”

“my dear boy, is the alchemist at home?” hyungwon asks, still perched on hoseok’s shoulder. quite a strong shoulder too. hyungwon finds it quite sturdy.

“‘fraid not. she stepped out. business with non cursed humans.” hyungwon bristles. “i take it you’re looking for the all clear antidote?”

“yes,” hyungwon hisses and the boy raises his brow. 

“i know where you can get the flower ingredient,” he replies, leaning against the frame while munching on the bread thoughtfully.

“well, out with it, please,” snaps hyungwon. 

the smile of changkyun’s face is slow spreading. “of course, i’ll tell you. master minhyuk is a dear friend of my mothe--”

“they’re siblings,” cuts in hyungwon, a frown settled on his face. 

hoseok gapes at the newfound information. no wonder master hyunwoo spent so much time appealing to master bora. changkyun grins more broadly. “yes, so i’ll tell you for a reduced price.”

“price?!” exclaim hyungwon, jumping up in surprise. “how dare y--you insufferable b--how might y--”

hoseok clears his throat. “what is the price?”

“a thousand coins.”

“a thousan--are you mad, you round meatball of a boy?!” cries out hyungwon.

“i suppose i could settle it to 750 coins...” mutter changkyun thoughtfully. “you don’t seem the type to be able to manage that much money. shame for you to be a toad--”

“frog.”

“right. for your whole life.”

hyungwon thinks of all the ways he’ll kill the boy when he’s back in human form while he calculates the amount of money he’s saved. grumbling a small affirmative, hyungwon and hoseok return to the shop to retrieve the money to give to the insufferable boy.”you are dreadfully cruel, horribly annoying, and appallingly quite a good businessman,” chides hyungwon as hoseok hands the boy his money.

“i’ve been told,” is his easy response.

they learn that the flower is the necessary ingredient for the antidote. 

“a blue flower,” says changkyun, pointing over the hill. “in the gardens surrounding the waste, you will find the blue flowers. gather as many as you can for it’s sweet nectar will save you.”

“easy enough,” ponders hyungwon, frog lips pursed out as he rubs his chin. 

“oh, beware the monster that guards the garden.”

“monster?!” cries out hoseok, eyes wide.

changkyun rolls his eyes in what hyungwon believes is the longest eye roll in history. “of course, hatmaker apprentice,” he sneers. “the gardens were started by the great wizard suliman and tended to by wizard howl.” he turns to hyungwon. “i believe my uncles tends to it now.”

hyungwon nods before glancing up at hoseok. “i will be fine. i’ve been to those gardens many a time with master minhyuk.”

“you can’t be serious,” argues hoseok. “you’ll never get there in even a week in your current state. no, i will come with you. we can be back before nightfall.”

hyungwon sighs. “my good man, i can’t possibly be further indebted to you.”

“we’ll just stop by the bakery to grab some food first.” picking up the frog and not waiting for an answer, hoseok walks away from the alchemist’s house, leaving behind a very amused changkyun.

the young boy places the coins with the others in a jar, counting as they’re added. “yes, well. i suppose that’s enough then...” he glances out the window to see the pair walking towards the bakery. “my apologies apprentice hyungwon. nothing personal, but you might be a frog for a bit longer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://68.media.tumblr.com/bfb1de49859a2107d0e810c56ab7f7d7/tumblr_inline_oo47ehtEw11qdzhpg_500.png
> 
> for reference to frog!hyungwon  
> credits: birdloaf


	4. in which they travel to the wastes for the blue flowers

while it does not take long to travel through the waste, the pair are oddly quiet and somehow that makes the journey longer. “did we really need all this food?” hyungwon croaks, from hoseok’s (broad) shoulders.   
  
the hatmaker smiles, eyes going slightly cross-eyed as he glances at the small frog on his shoulder. “we don’t know how long we might be there! say we run into a wizard who wants something in return for letting us pass,” reasons hoseok, treading carefully through the tall grass. he keeps his shoulders stiff and high to protect the skeptical frog.   
  
“and you think that bread rolls will help with that?”  
  
“no one can resist kihyun’s bread,” hoseok replies with flourish and hyungwon isn’t sure why, but he’s certain he’d like to squish the baker right about now. beneath his feet.  
  
“i beg to differ,” he mumbles under his breath. but hoseok cheerfully walks through the tall grass and along the path leading to the gardens with the basket of baked goods hanging off his muscled forearms.  
  
hoseok fumbles over his thoughts, thinking of how to engage in conversation with a frog. a magicked frog, he reminds himself because hyungwon still has the mind of a human after all. “have you always wanted to be a magician?” asks hoseok, carefully after minutes of silence, save the occasional sound of hyungwon grasping a fly with this tongue.  
  
hyungwon shrugs his frog shoulders. “it seemed like the best thing to do in my position.”  
  
“oh?”  
  
hyungwon sighs. “when master minhyuk found me,” he says as hoseok bounds across the river on stronger legs than hyungwon was aware he had. “i had just been kicked out of my house. hadn’t paid the witch landlord for a fews months, you see.” he says this all nonchalantly, as if it’s very normal to have a witch landlord, and hoseok can only nod, hoping that hyungwon doesn’t see his looks of surprise. “i’ve been his apprentice since.”  
  
there’s a few more minutes of passing silence. “and you?” inquires hyungwon, quietly.  
  
“ah,” sighs hoseok, wobbling against the mud of the wastes. “i sold small trinkets in kingsbury. master hyunwoo noticed my skill.”  
  
“in selling trinkets?”  
  
hoseok laughs loudly. “in crafts.”  
  
he murmurs a soft, “i see,” eyes trained on the path ahead. “i have to ask,” begins hyungwon, croaking. “is he truly as dense as he seems?”  
  
hoseok chuckles, a warm sound to the despair of the wastes around them. “no, he’s just--he’s simple. he doesn’t care for the drama or the glitz. he prefers comfort.”  
  
“and yet he chose master minhyuk...”  
  
“they bring out the best in each other,” laughs hoseok. “do you not think so? i see master hyunwoo explore new things because of magician minhyuk all the time.”  
  
hyungwon snorts. “master minhyuk is anything but comfort.” webbed feet digging into hoseok’s strong shoulders, hyungwon loses himself in thought.   
  
the gardens surrounding the wastes are one of the ways magicians like minhyuk hold in the witch of the waste and all she can do. the gardens hold some of the more potent herbs and flowers. this much hyungwon knows. but for hoseok, it all comes as a bit of a surprise and wonderment.   
  
looking around the garden in awe, hoseok asks,“so these blue flowers...they can cure you?” his hands glide through the flowers, careful not to pluck any.  
  
“they’re supposed to be some sort of an all cure,” hyungwon answers promptly.   
  
“is that what your book said?”  
  
the answer is slow. “well,” hyungwon starts, lips pouting. “the book didn’t reference the flowers explicitly...” his voice trails off as they reach the gardens, in record time thanks to hoseok’s physique.   
  
they’re greeted by the current gardener and when the words blue flowers falls from hyungwon’s cursed lips, the gardener sighs, his eyes rolling far back in his head. “did a changkyun character tell you about it?” he asks, leaning on the large shovel. at hoseok’s nod, the gardener sighs again. “i swear, i’ve never met this kid and i already detest him...”  
  
“my good man,” begins hyungwon with a frown.  
  
“there are no blue flowers that are an all cure,” the gardner interrupts. “the runt just enjoys pranking unsuspecting folk. and when i get my hands on him...” he trails off, leaving little to the imagination.  
  
hyungwon hops onto hoseok’s head. “but... the blue flo--”  
  
the gardner sighs, clearly tired of the conversation and the length it’s going. “they don’t exist, my good...” the man looks over hyungwon’s form. “frog.” hyungwon stares at the man, his frog jaw gone slack at the news. he must take pity upon the travelers because the gardner chooses to add, “i’ve heard there is a magical beast, nearer the mountains. he will answer questions. for a price. perhaps try your luck there.” and with that, the gardner ends the conversation, abruptly turning away.


	5. in which they meet a feral beast that is not really a feral beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im actually a horrid person and updating :(

“they say that there is a feral beast that lives up in the mountains. it may grant you that which you seek. but for a price.”

it’s the last thing the gardner tells them and it’s all hyungwon can do to not scream in annoyance.

 

“it’s not the most horrible,” hoseok tells him. “in fact, perhaps this beast is not all that terrible.”

hyungwon looks up from his webbed hands. “the beast is feral. it will attack.”

“perhaps not.”

hyungwon snorts with his little frog nose. “are you so optimistic?”

hoseok grins, stepping over flowers until he reaches a path. “i’m merely looking at the brightside.”

and so hoseok begins his travels towards the feral beast with a forlorn frog upon his shoulders. though hoseok is showing a brave face, hyungwon can hear the the thudding of his heart pounding against his ribcage.

“my apologies,” hyungwon starts. “for entrapping you in my pursuit.”

hoseok is silent for awhile. “perhaps...i prefer an adventure.”

“i prefer to sleep.”

the man laughs, stepping lightly on the cobbled stone path. “yes, i am well aware.”

hyungwon hops a little on his shoulder, ego piqued. “well aware?”

hoseok nods. “the handsome apprentice asleep by the window every afternoon. you’re hard to miss,” he says easily as he climbs over mounds of dirt and half done scarecrows.

“handsome?”

hoseok blushes, a brilliant pink against his pale cheeks. hyungwon finds it endearing. “i only meant-- i mean, well-- that is, you are quite attractive...” he seems quite flustered, so hyungwon persists.

“i see. and pray tell me, what about me is so handsome?”

hoseok nearly trips over thin air. “must you embarrass me so?” the pretty pink stained across his cheeks is deeper now, a near mauve color. hyungwon thinks it adds another beautiful quality to the hatmaker in training.

the frog licks his lips. “i must. i learned from a great embarrass-er.”

hoseok grins at that. “magician minhyuk cannot be so bad. master hyunwoo dotes on him so.”

hyungwon consider his words for a moment. “i imagine hyunwoo to dote upon a lot of things that are otherwise useless.”

“now wait a minute,” hoseok cries out, indignantly. “master hyunwoo is a good man.”

“a simple man.”

“there is nothing wrong with that,” argues hoseok as they near the enchanted area. “he is balanced by magician minhyuk.”

hyungwon rubs his frog chin with a webbed hand. “rather, hyunwoo balances minhyuk. the gods know he needs it.”

 

they finally reach the enchanted area of the mountain and glance around for the beast. hyungwon can hear the whimper that slips past hoseok’s lips. he is frightened and the thought of a beast terrifies him so. they hear a loud crash from the bushes at the very middle of the clearing, and then a rather scary growl.

hoseok gives a small scream.

the tops of the bushes rustle again. hyungwon looks at the bushes, frowning on top of the trembling shoulder of the hatmaker. the beast slowly emerges.

 

it is a tiger.

 

it’s big, hyungwon thinks, especially for a tiger. the beast slowly moves towards the two, eyes narrowed. it sneezes.

“are you a sorcerer?” it asks, hopefully.

hoseok’s jaw falls open. the voice sounds so pure, so very un-tiger.

hyungwon answers instead. “no. i am a magician in training though. whyever would you need a sorcerer?”

“oh. a sorcerer turned me into,” it gestures to itself with a paw. “this and he hasn’t changed me back. and i can’t stay like this. my mother must be worried.”the beast turns, having lost interest.

“wait!” hyungwon calls, a webbed hand stretching out. the beast turns, head moving towards hyungwon. the frog clears his throat. “sir or madam--”

“i beg your pardon? madam?!” screeches the beast, offended. “i’m a boy!”

hyungwon blinks. “i’m very sorry,” he’s hasty in his apology. “i am hyungwon, my companion is hoseok, and we’re very pleased to meet you.

the tiger turns completely and sits on his hindquarters. “i don’t remember my name,” he replies sullenly. “but the sorcerer called me matthew before he left...”

“matthew?” asks hoseok, finally finding his voice. the tiger looks at him with sad eyes before nodding.

“we were told a feral beast lives on these mountains,” hyungwon begins, voice lofty.

the beast nods, “yes, that’s me.”

“that can grant any wish for a price,” he finishes.

the tiger frowns. “i can’t grant wishes,” he says simply. “if i could, i’d wish myself human again.” he looks to hyungwon with a gleam. “can’t you change me back?”

hoseok beams. “he is very gifted!” he turns his head slightly to look down at the frog. “he is a magician most cunning and clever, much given to his fervent studies!”

hyungwon snorts. “i say, hoseok, must you go on like that?” he says, hopping to hoseok’s head now. “it’s embarrassing. i am not trained to be curing transfiguration curses yet. hence my own problem.”

the hatmaker frowns. “you mustn’t deny your talent though,” he says seriously. “you are quite talented and--”

“if you’re quite finished,” interrupts the beast with a disgusted look. suddenly his eyes glitter. “say--you said you were a magician in training! do you have a master?”

the frog nods. “master minhyuk.”

the tiger’s head swivels between hoseok and hyungwon. “the magician _minhyuk_. you’re an apprentice to _the_ magician minhyuk?”

hyungwon raises his frog head, proud. “yes.”

“you must take me him!” the beast exclaims.

“why?”

“he can change me,” the beast says promptly.

hoseok speaks again. “you aren’t going to eat him or anything, are you?”

the beast looks offended. “i’m a human!”

hyungwon sighs. “yes, i suppose we can see if minhhyuk can do anything. he rests his frog head in webbed hands. another failure at curing his curse.


	6. in which hoseok finally just kisses hyungwon

hyungwon isn’t sure how far they’ve walked before they stop. by that time, the beast has smelled every kind of flower, prattling on about how the stop of the mountain only has bushes of lilacs.

“and after awhile, you get tired of smelling the same kind of flower,” he tells them, walking carefully on the path.

“hyungwon, are you sure you need magic to remove the curse?” hoseok asks. “it just seems like nothing is working.”

“it’s the only thing i can think of,” the frog replies dimly.

“well, can we at least try a non-magicked idea?”

hyungwon looks up at the other, feeling all bits confused. on top of everything, he was also getting thirsty. “we can do that,” he says carefully.

hoseok smiles.

they take the trail down back to town for a long time. it seems a long way, but anything would seem like a long way at that point of failed travels. hyungwon feels his frog limbs grow tired of the day’s journeys. he sits, his legs shaking as hoseok travels for him.

finally, hoseok stops moving.

“are we resting again?” hyungwon asks hazily. “is there water nearby?”

“this isn’t a rest,” hoseok answers.

“we’re here,” adds the beast, quietly.

 

hyungwon looks up. they are standing in front of the magic door to magician minhyuk’s moving castle. a wisp of smoke is coming out of the chimney. the door swings open.

“it’s about time you got here,” chimes a voice before they can see minhyuk standing in the doorway. “do you--oh.” he looks at the beast. the beast looks up at minhyuk. “you’re not supposed to be a tiger." he taps a finger to his lips. "you're human..."

“yes, i know that,” says the beast crossly. “do you know anything about curses?”

minhyuk frowns. “of course i do.” he stares at the beast longer. “you aren’t cursed though.”

hoseok looks to hyungwon. “he says a sorcerer turned him,” proclaims the hatmaker.

minhyuk snorts. “if the sorcerer used majicked powders of an alchemist.”

“did you say--” begins, hyungwon with a slow building fury. the kind that makes frogs swell up.

“--alchemist?” finishes hoseok with a pout.

minhyuk blinks. “yes, this is no sorcerer’s doing.”

“perhaps the son of an alchemist?”

minhyuk blinks again. “yes, well. i _suppose_.” he purses his lips together, as if the questions annoy him.

hoseok looks down at the frog on his shoulder. “it as probably that changkyun boy.” hyungwon nods.

“i remember a boy,” the beast says suddenly and the others turn to face him. “i remember a boy blowing powders in my face and then...” he shudders. “i became _this_.”

minhyuk frowns. “yes, well, i don’t need magic to remove that,” he says scornfully. “do you plan to stand there all day though? because i can’t do a thing while you’re just standing like gargoyles on my por--oh, except you, hoseok.” he ushers them inside, a lingering hand on hoseok's broad shoulders. “you’re certainly no gargoyle.”

so the three follow him inside. minhyuk hates noises and magicked the whole castle to never creak or groan (or at least had hyungwon do it). hoseok finds it so far different from the creaky hatshop. hyungwon guides hoseok to the table while the beast follows minhyuk to the kitchen.

“it’s a long process,” minhyuk says, rummaging through the cupboard. “hyungwon dearest, where did you put that vine of mi--nevermind.” he bring back a dried vine and crouches next to the beast, and ties it around its neck, muttering something under his breath.

“now,” says minhyuk, patting its head. “can you tell me your real name?”

“jooheon,” the beast responds promptly. then his eyes widen. “say--i couldn’t remember that before!”

minhyuk nods. “just as i thought. this could have been quite bad. you certainly took your time getting to me.” the beast opens its mouth to speak, but minhyuk interrupts. “forgetting your name eases you into the state of the beast. this alchemist must really not like you.” he frowns.

“anyway, that should take care of the process of reverting you back.” minhyuk stands. “would you like some meat while the transformation takes place?”

the beast nods.

“can’t you do anything for hyungwon?” hoseok ventures with a frown as minhyuk looks through his cupboard.

the magician looks up with a grin. “afraid not. the spell he turned into a curse is actually quite powerful. you might have to look into old lore for remedies.” minhyuk sets a plate on the floor before reaching for three mugs, all different. he touches the plate on the ground briefly and a bloodied piece of meat appears. hoseok retches and the beast eats.

“now, now,” tuts minhyuk, setting a large jug on the table. “don’t vomit in my house. help yourselves to some juice. i’ll be back in a minute.” he meanders towards the majicked door, leading to a library. hoseok blinks. he’s certain that door led to the town.

“where does that door lead to?” hoseok asks to hyungwon quietly. 

hyungwon jumps down to the table. “wherever minhyuk wants to get to.”

“what good is a door if you can’t get to where you need to go?” adds minhyuk walking back inside with a book.

hyungwon ignores him and jumps down next to the beast. “does the name changkyun mean anything to you?”

the beast stops eating, eyes wide. “that’s the name--!”

“--of the boy who turned you.” finishes hyungwon.

“our changkyunnie?” quips minhyuk, sticking a finger in his book. he looks mortified.

“the very same,” replies hoseok.

minhyuk goes back to his book mumbling something about children needing freedom. “have you looked into lore?”

“well, it would take some time to look through all the lore of cursed frogs and--” begins hyungwon.

“what about a kiss?”

minhyuk and hyungwon both look to hoseok. “a what?”

“a kiss. like in fairy tales,” hoseok explains. “or, the lore, as you call it. it seems something common to do if someone is made to sleep for many years or being turned into a frog, and such.”

hyungwon furrows his brows at hoseok’s suggestion. it is a...simple fix to the situation, of course. he croaks an affirmative. after their previous quest, he’s ready to try anything to turn back to a human and if that means he kisses the cute apprentice hatmaker, then he’s more than happy to comply to the whims of magic.

“ _i_ can’t kiss hyungwon!” minhyuk objects.

“i can,” hoseok says calmly.

“you’d kiss an ugly frog?” sneers minhyuk.

hyungwon frowns and opens his mouth to say something. then he looks towards hoseok and seems to change his mind. “i’m not ugly.”

“he’s quite handsome,” protests hoseok.

minhyuk makes a disgusted face. “ _i’m_ not watching someone as handsome as you kiss something as ugly as hyungwon.” minhyuk goes to the door, with the beast following. it’s the town again.

 

there’s silence that carries for a long time until finally hoseok breaks it.

“you don’t...” hoseok says before taking a breath. “you don’t have to kiss me. i merely meant--”

“i’d love to kiss you!” interrupts hyungwon, jumping back up on the table. hoseok blinks. “that is-- i mean to say-- it wouldn’t be bad.”

hoseok tilts his head to the side, appraising the frog. “i _am_ quite a good kisser.” and for the first time in many years, hyungwon is at a loss for words.

“do you object?” hoseok asks pointedly.

hyungwon can feel the heat rise to his cheeks. “i--well, no.”

hoseok grins, leaning in towards the the frog on the table. hyungwon doesn’t dare look at him from so close. and then he feels lips upon his frog ones.

at first, hoseok can distinctly, feel a frog and feels profusely embarrassed, but then, he felt warmth. when he opens his eyes, lips not moving hyungwon is very much not a frog.

“it worked!” he exclaims with relief, as hyungwon glance down at himself.

“i--so it did...”

hoseok smiles, proud and happy. “you needed a normal, run of the mill, fairy tale cure.”

hyungwon looks at him suspiciously. he opens his mouth to snap back at insult, but hoseok takes a step closer.

“perhaps...” he says, quietly. “we should make sure you there aren’t any remnants of that curse.”

hyungwon strokes his chin, in thought. “i supp--” and hoseok presses his lips to hyungwon’s very much human ones this time. and this time, hyungwon let him push a little closer, wedged between his legs. and this time, hoseok slides his tongue past hyungwon’s swollen lips. for a good measure.


	7. in which it all ends

hyungwon wakes up with a start. his neck hurts and he’s hunched over uncomfortably on tha table.

“you fell asleep on me,” he hears a whining voice chirp.

hyungwon blinks away the sleep from his eyes and stares at the man aross from him. “hello.” is his reponse. hoseok nearly replies cordially.

“you fell asleep on me,” he repeats, accusingly.

hyungwon nods. “yes, well. i do quite like sleep.” he slides his arms on the table before bending one at the elbow to rest his head on. “thank you.”

hoseok raises his brows. “for letting you sleep?”

hyungwon shakes his head, his cheeks stained pink. “for breaking the curse.”

“you mean for kissing you.”

hyungwon’s cheeks stain a little more. “you’re a lot more confident with this table between us.”

“hardly,” hoseok chirps with a grin. “you’re much more handsome as a human than a frog.”

hyungwon furrows his brows together, exasperated at the older man. “are all apprentice hatmakers as ridiculous as you?”

hoseok grins, teeth showing and eyes curving into the most beautiful crescents hyungwon has ever seen. “just the ones head over heels for you.”

hyungwon guffaws, sitting up straight in his chair, his hand resting comfortably between the two of them on the table now. there’s certainly a weight lifted off his shoulders now because it would be quite difficult carrying about his apprentice sorcerer position as a frog. so hyungwon is very grateful. but frankly, he’s not sure if he’s more grateful to have human size legs or to have felt the press of hoseok’s lips to his own.

“how do you suppose this curse works?” hoseok asks, carefully.

hyungwon looks up at him confused. “pardon?”

hoseok laughs, his hand reaching for the hyungwon’s. “do curses come back?”

hyungwon swallows. he stares into the dark of hoseok’s eyes and grasps the situation. “i’m quite a skilled wizard,” he says quietly before standing and perching himself on the table in front of the hatmaker.

hoseok inhales deeply the smell of herbs and spells and burned wood in the shop. “well, you know... i’d just like to offer myself for uncurisng duties.” hyungwon smiles and hoseok cranes his neck to place a kiss to the other’s lips.

 

* * *

 

 

hyunwoo looks up from his seat at minhyuk resting casully on his sofa. 

“don’t you have work, minhyukie?”

minhyuk rolls his eyes. “i can’t do _anything_  with them just... _kissing_  all the time,” he whines. he turns over on his stomach and gives the master hatmaker his best pout. “i don’t know why you won’t play a little?”

hyunwoo chortles. “because your apprentice is kissing my apprentice and i have more work now.” hyunwoo looks over at minhyuk, now hanging off the sofa upside down. “you said there was someone else with them?”

minhyuk blinks. “yes, he said he wanted to meet his curser so i dropped him right at the front of changkyun’s.”

the sound of hyunwoo’s sewing machine stops and minhyuk looks up. “you dropped off a beast--”

“the curse will wear off shortly. he can’t do any harm."  


/

which is really only _partially_  true because changkyun’s arm is in jooheon’s mouth when the curse starts to wear off until a very human jooheon with a lot of drool is sitting with a very much screaming changkyun’s arm in his mouth.

changkyun finally stops screaming when he realizes that his arm is not stuck inside the mouth of a beast, but rather the mouth of a very peeved human being. one that still won’t let go of his arm.

“would you let me go?” snaps changkyun, trying to yank back his arm.

jooheon is unrelenting and holds tight with teeth and a strong grip. but he makes the mistake of opening his mouth to speak and changkyun takes his chance. “you turned me into a beast!”

changkyun sneers. “only because you’re always pretending to be one with your shoulders hunched--you’ve barely got a neck!”

“at least i’m not short!” counters jooheon, loud enough for changkyun, but soft enough that baker kihyun wouldn’t hear.

“i have long legs!”

jooheon snarls. there’s quiet for a bit while they both contemplate what to say next

“who uncursed you anyway?” asks changkyun, quietly, running his finger through his brown hair.

“magician minhyuk,” replies jooheon immediately.

“surprised he would take an interest,” says changkyun with a frown. “oh, the frog probably found you, huh?”

jooheon jerks his head to the side in annoyance. “do you get a rise out of being a jerk?”

changkyun pouts. “i’m not a jerk.”

and there’s something there and jooheon can’t push down the smile on his face. “you’re a little bit of a jerk. you cursed me.”

“yes, but now you’re uncursed.”

“no thanks to you!”

changkyun sighs. “well if you’re gonna pull hairs.”

“you literally cursed me to near eternal damnation!” cries out jooheon, his voice cracking just a bit.

changkyun rolls his eyes with a huff. “you sound drama(rama)tic. i have a music class to attend.”

and jooheon follows him, partially to continue to hurling insults and partially for the music class.

 

* * *

 

 

kihyun isn’t sure what he expects when he walks into the spell shop, but it is certainly not hyungwon curled in hoseoks’s lap. 

the noise of kihyun’s basket falling wakes up the lanky man. his eyes open just enough to see the open mouth and wide eyes of the baker.

“your growth spell is on the counter,” he mumbles before curling back into the stable arms of hoseok, despite the deep red stain of embarrassment on the hatmaker’s cheeks.

kihyun faints.

 

* * *

 

catch me on [tumblr](http://sarangdongie.tumblr.com/)/[twitter](https://twitter.com/jinkimon_)

 

**Author's Note:**

> kudos/comments are always appreciated!  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/m1nhyukku)


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